SHADOW Welsh Secretary Bill Wiggin would "very seriously" consider an offer by a language centre in Birmingham to teach him Welsh.

SHADOW Welsh Secretary Bill Wiggin would "very seriously" consider an offer by a language centre in Birmingham to teach him Welsh.

The Herefordshire MP made a pledge to learn Welsh after he was appointed to the Tory front-bench position last November, but struggled to find a teacher.

He appealed for help earlier this year and said his efforts to find a teacher had been undermined by the lack of resources for Welsh students in London, where he is based during the week as an MP.

He said, "I am not just referring to the language. Finding a teacher has proven to be practically impossible in Westminster.

"I found the BBC had a very helpful website which teaches Welsh. However, now I would like to take it a bit further."

At the time, Elfyn Llwyd, Plaid Cymru's leader at Westminster, said none of his party's four MPs would be offering to teach Mr Wiggin Welsh because they were "exceedingly busy people".

But he added, "In all sincerity though, I am very pleased that Bill has decided to learn Welsh and I wish him well in his efforts."

Now, the Brasshouse Language Centre, which is based in Birmingham, has stepped forward with an offer to give him Welsh tutorials on a distance-learning basis tailored to suit him. Friedl Guest, head of Danish, Dutch, Finnish, German, Norwegian, Swedish and Welsh at the centre, said he would be working with one of their Welsh tutors by phone, email and regular tuition.

Mr Wiggin, who represents Leominster, said, "This is a great offer and I am delighted to get it."